April 21, 2006

Southern Comfort Whiskey Liqueur Review

A few weeks back, we posted a little story about our Editor in Chief, and the not-so-fond memories he has of a run-in with Southern Comfort back in college. He remembered liking the taste, but that was the problem, and he's had trouble even seeing the bottle since then. With some coaxing and gentle ribbing (read: challenges to his manhood) we convinced him to try SoCo again. No shots this time, but he did try it both straight and mixed in drinks. So what was the verdict?

The Color:
Southern Comfort had a light amber, brownish color, that almost seems reddish when we held it up to the light. Very similar to your typcial whiskey, and the untrained eye might not be able to tell the difference.

The Nose:
Sweet and fragrant, with hints of peaches and citrus. It didn't smell overly sweet, which was a selling point for those who are concerned about how cloying the typical liqueur is. One intern said he whiffed a hint of children's chewable aspirin when he sniffed the glass, but we're pretty sure he'd already been hitting the bottle.

The Taste:
The taste of whiskey was definitely apparent, but there was a sweetness there too, which is brought by the mix of peach liqueur and fresh peaches that are added to the liqueur. It wasn't syrupy, as some had feared, and it had a tangy tartness to it. We liked it on the rocks, but it was just sweet enough that we weren't a huge fan straight. We couldn't wait to try it in a mixed drink, because as soon as we initially mentioned it, everyone and his brother had a recipe for us to try.

The Recipes:
This is where we get to the good stuff. We had onerecipe we were dying to try - the SoCo Lime. It's basically a shot of SoCo and a splash of Rose's lime juice, shaken over ice and strained into a shot glass. What'd we think? It was damned good - as good as we'd been lead to believe.

The next thing we tried was a recommendation from our contact over at SoCo - she said she likes it with club soda and a twist of lime. We liked that just fine, but we also one-upped her a bit. We mixed up a SoCo Lime shot, poured it into a rocks glass ice and all, and added club soda. We're pretty sure we've found our favorite new mixed drink.

We also mixed up the same drink with with a shot of Soco, a heavy splash of blood orange bitters, and club soda...and found our second favorite drink. As we mixed them up and tried them, we could only agree...the Editor in Chief is an idiot for giving up on a booze this good just because of some moderate to heavy vomiting.

As much as we usually drink our liquor straight, this is a booze made for mixing. We mixed it with just about everything in the house, and every drink we made tasted great. Our big surprise - mix SoCo with orange juice for a citrusy pick-me-up that puts the screwdriver to shame.

The Verdict:
We love our whiskey here, but we also like to hit the mixed drinks on occasion. Southern Comfort is the best of all worlds, because it's a whiskey (liqueur) we don't feel remotely guilty about throwing in a mixed drink. The sweetness is moderate, the flavor is delicate, and the desire to mix a second drink is high. Not for your typcial booze snob, but it's a good fun party drink, and we can't recommend it enough if you're looking for that rare liquor everyone can find a mixer for.

Oh...and what was the Editor in Chief's response? He was sheepish at first, but after he took his first swig, he was in love again for the first time. Plus, now that he's got a few years and (slightly) better judgment in him, he'll be able to drink the stuff at least quasi-responsibly, and avoid vomiting up a lung. In his own slurred words, the Comfort has been his blind spot for too long...and he's finally re-opened his eyes. Whatever that means.

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Posted by Jake Jamieson at April 21, 2006 7:47 AM

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Recent Comments

SoCo is like the nickelback of whiskeys,lacking amy sort of nuance, just loud and over ripe, a great redneck drink that will leave you at the same place that a nickelback concert will leave you at the end of the evening, i.e. - with your head in the toilet bowl.

Posted by: jake at January 10, 2013 11:14 PM

Quite correct about the neutral spirit with bourbon and flavourings. Let's not forget that it is then aged in the stomach of usually a male human being, mixed with party snacks, aged briefly, then quickly emptied out onto linoleum or carpeting. In better places, this slurry is cleaned up quickly, and the poor bastard lives!

Posted by: ottawa.fan at January 8, 2011 10:08 PM

@Alton, I hate to break it to you but Southern Comfort does not age unlike wines and certain other types of liquors so therefore it does not gain or lose value. The contents are exactly the same as a new bottle purchased at a liquor store.

And Andrew is correct Soco is NOT repeat NOT a Whisky, it is a neutral spirit with bourbon and flavoring.

Posted by: Rick at June 4, 2010 2:31 AM

I have a bottle of 60+ year old Southern Comfort (100 Proof) Whiskey. Would like to know how much it is worth.

Posted by: Alton at August 25, 2009 12:54 PM

Just so everyone knows, Southern Comfort is not a whiskey, and does not even have any whiskey in it. It is made with neutral spirit and bourbon flavouring. Southern Comfort Reserve is made with some 6 year old bourbon, but both are liqueurs as they bouth have lots of sugar added. Basic Southern Comfort is a fairly mediocre product, as it it just taste of flavourings, there is nothing natural about it whatsoever. The reserve is a whole lot more passable.

Posted by: andrew at January 27, 2009 10:50 AM

Every now and then I like mixing SoCo with whatever whiskey I'm drinking, and maybe with some water and 3 bones as well.

Is there a name for this--SoCo and whiskey or bourbon?

Posted by: Blockhead at December 31, 2007 10:37 PM

I bought my girlfriend a bottle of the black label (100 proof) Soco for our anniversary, because before we started dating I remembered her saying she liked Soco. Anyway, that was about a month ago, since then I'm sure we've bought at least a bottle or two every week since then, and honestly I don't remember much. If you want to get a quick buzz the 100 proof tastes great with coke, and it's pretty cheap at about 15 bucks at shop and save!

My girlfriend and I are arguing about SC being a whiskey or a liqueur. I have enjoyed many of them on ice and she has not. I contend it is a liqueur with a whiskey base. She says it is a whiskey.

Would you say it is a whiskey or a liqueur.

Please help before we have to break up.

Posted by: Greg Hallback at December 5, 2006 12:09 AM

I have to say, I think you guys are giving cocktails a bad name. Why oh why would you *ever* use Rose's Lime Juice junk when it takes a mere 15 seconds to squeeze a fresh lime? Do you just like re-living your days in a dive bar? I post alot about cocktails, and I would never ever ever encourage the use of Rose's, either lime juice or, even more disgusting, the Grenadine. Train your palette a touch and you'll never go back to bottle junk like Rose's.

That being said, I might just try SoCo again myself. I too had a very bad experience with it, and haven't really gone back.